25 U.S.C. § 378

Partition of allotment among heirs; patents

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If the Secretary of the Interior shall find that any inherited trust allotment or allotments are capable of partition to the advantage of the heirs, he may cause such lands to be partitioned among them, regardless of their competency, patents in fee to be issued to the competent heirs for their shares and trust patents to be issued to the incompetent heirs for the lands respectively or jointly set apart to them, the trust period to terminate in accordance with the terms of the original patent or order of extension of the trust period set out in said patent.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1966–2026 · leading case: Sampson v. Andrus, 483 F. Supp. 240 (D.S.D. 1980).
Sampson v. Andrus, 483 F. Supp. 240 (D.S.D. 1980). · cites it 2× “Whether the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, which Plaintiff’s Tribe has accepted and by which the Tribe is bound, has supplanted 25 U.S.C. § 378 , which section plaintiff urges as the governing statute for her application to partition her trust allotment? 2.”
Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation v. United States, 21 Cl. Ct. 176 (Ct. Cl. 1990). “Part 152, some of which are asserted by the Tribe here, including 25 U.S.C. §§ 378 , 379, 404, and 405. . The Tribe asserts a variety of the statutes that authorize 25 C.”
Nebraska Pub. Power Dist. v. 100.95 Acres of Land, 540 F. Supp. 592 (D. Neb. 1982). “held to have supplanted 25 U.S.C.A. § 378 in reference to the partition of trust allotments).”
Chemah v. Fodder, 259 F. Supp. 910 (W.D. Okla. 1966). “127 , 25 U.S.C. § 378 , which provides as follows: “If the Secretary of the Interior shall find that any inherited trust allotment or allotments are capable of partition to the advantage of the heirs, he may cause such lands to be partitioned among them, regardless of their…”
Gardner v. Haaland (D.D.C. 2025). · cites it 10× “INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Edson Gardner, in his capacity as personal representative of the estate of his mother, petitions for a writ of mandamus to compel the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (“Defendant”) 1 to partition land designated as Indian Country and issue deeds…”
Halverson v. Burgum (9th Cir. 2025). · cites it 6× “Relevant here, the Secretary may partition an “inherited trust allotment” if it is “to the advantage of the heirs” 25 U.S.C. § 378. The BIA interprets § 378 as authorizing only “partition in kind” and only of land held in trust.”
Halverson v. Haaland (D. Mont. 2023). · cites it 2× “However, neither the Court nor the parties addressed the third element on the Motion to Dismiss, except as related to: (1) the QTA, which is not relevant here because the Court determined the QTA does not apply, and (2) Plaintiff's general contention that no other adequate…”
Halverson v. Haaland (D. Mont. 2023). · cites it 2× “| at 5), pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 378 , which grants the BIA the authority to partition allotments and issue patents or deeds for the portions of the allotment set aside for the petitioner.”
Gardner v. Haaland (D.D.C. 2026). · cites it 2× “Originally, Plaintiff petitioned for a writ of mandamus to compel Defendant to partition the land and issue deeds pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 378 . Defendant moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”
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